Rabid bat prompts city warning

The discovery of a rabid bat in the Lincoln Square neighborhood prompted the city late Saturday to issue a warning against any contact with bats or other wild animals.

On Wednesday, a house cat discovered the bat in an apartment near Lawrence and Western Avenues and woke up a man and woman in the dwelling, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.

The couple saw the bat lying on the floor and trapped it with a bucket, and then called staff from Chicago Animal Care and Control to remove it.

Analysis of the bat's carcass this week by the Illinois Department of Public Health showed the bat had rabies, and as a precaution the man and woman are undergoing medical treatment -- a series of five vaccinations spread out over a 28-day period.

"Rabies should never, under any circumstances, be taken lightly," CDPH Commissioner Terry Mason said in a release sent Saturday night. "This is a deadly viral disease that attacks the nervous system. There is no effective treatment for rabies once symptoms have started. At that point, it is fatal."

But a rabies infection can be prevented with early treatment, "so that makes it vitally important that anyone exposed to a bat seek medical care right away," he said.

People can get rabies from the bite of an infected warm-blooded animal, such as a bat, raccoon, skunk, coyote, feral cat or domestic animals.

In a typical year, about two or three rabid bats are detected in the city, according to the CDPH. People who find a bat in their house should immediately leave the room where the bat is, close the door behind them and call 311.